Nigerian youths have been advised to strategize in order to tap from the huge opportunities that exist in the country.
The advice came from the experts who spoke at a business fare summit organised by the Delta State University Secondary School Alumni Association, Lagos State branch, yesterday.
In the event which was with the theme: ‘Embracing Possibilities’, the experts maintained that despite the harsh economy, Nigeria has a great potential and a lot of people are already missing out because they lack power to see the vision.
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In her keynote address, a Nigerian business executive and pharmacist, Abimbola Adebakin, said: “We are in a huge country with versed opportunities and many people said that they are tired of hearing that. We need to have a positive mindset, and be intentional in order to see the areas we can add values.”
She regretted that many Nigerian youths are missing out in the opportunities in the country, while some are traveling out of the country.
Adebakin who is the founder and CEO of Advantage Health Africa, said: “There is huge opportunities in this country, before now, I see a lot of foreigners coming into Nigeria with single briefcases but now, they are coming in with their families, spouses. They are giving birth to children here; setting up their own schools and worship centers. They have come to stay in the opportunities and possibilities and Nigerians are walking away.
“Youths need to see a vision through coming up with solutions that can tackle problems, then strategize towards achieving that and there won’t be need of looking for greener pastures to other countries.
“You don’t have to be an expert for you to run a successful business, same way you don’t have to be coding for you to run a technology-based business.”
Also, another entrepreneur, Oke Egbi said: “You can’t have a successful business without a strategy. You must understand your target audience, determine your competitors. Then you must sell yourself, market it without shame and then take your data seriously in order to succeed. “
In tackling the ‘japa syndrome’, Human Resources professional, HR, Ivie Temitayo-Ibitoye, advised that entrepreneurs should know their value proposition.
She said: “Do everything to retain a good hand than engaging the new ones. You must be intentional about keeping them.’
Meanwhile, the Chairman planning committee for the event, Efe Oriero, said: “This is just to give small businesses opportunity to show case themselves.
In Nigeria, there are a lot of complaints about the harsh economy and people are living the country to other countries. But we know that there are a lot of opportunities here.
“So, we feel that if we network, come together as a team, display our different businesses, get people to talk, that way, we have created a network where we can support each other and each benefit from the economy regardless of the present economy.”
Oriero added: “We have a lot of businesses here, service providers , banks and we have our sponsors like Pepsi, Guiness, Bet9ja among others and we are grateful to all of them.”
